A “special planning program” for the historic Pointe-Claire Village district was adopted by the city on June 7 and it will serve as a guideline to revitalize the municipality’s oldest neighbourhood. The program extends until 2030.

The plan highlights the need for commercial and residential development in areas along Lakeshore Road, from Pointe-Claire Ave. to areas just east of Cartier Ave.

“This SPP (special planning program) will serve as a reference document to guide our planning and development decisions for the future of the historic centre of the city,” Mayor Morris Trudeau said at the council meeting, when the 92-page document passed final approval.

The document is the product of three years’ work by the city administration, council and urban planners, and opinions collected from the public in open consultation sessions.

The plan encourages increased commercial development, the development of new housing, possibly adding “200 to 300 housing units,” and proposes several changes to Alexandre Bourgeau Park and the historic Point, with an eye to preserving heritage buildings and adding new recreational features.

Residents in past consultations said they were concerned about the plan’s apparent goal to increase population density in the neighbourhood. Proposals to move recreational facilities and clubs out of the village core to Bourgeau Park, or outside the village completely met with some resistance at a large public consultation meeting on Feb. 17, which drew more than 300 residents.

The plan’s recommendations include moving lawn bowling facilities on Ste-Anne St. to a location by Lake St. Louis, in the park, and either rebuilding or relocating the curling club.

Bourgeau Park and neighbouring lots are designated for recreational facilities, playgrounds and public markets. The Point, which hosts St. Joachim Church, the convent building and iconic windmill is designated for “cultural heritage,” and properties along Lakeshore and southern Cartier Ave. are designated as the “heritage village.”

The plan promises to add several new features to the lakeside area, including an enclosed swimming area with a sandy beach on Lake St. Louis between the Point and Bourgeau Park, and a new walking paths along the waterfront.

Major changes to Bourgeau Park include the construction of new chalet facilities closer to the waterfront, removal of the baseball field and repositioning of the soccer field and tennis courts, and removal of the “underused” Bourgeau community pool.

Along Lakeshore Road, the plan recommends new sidewalks, removing roadside parking spaces in favour of designated parking spaces around Bourgeau Park, burial of overhead utility cables, and redirecting traffic on side-streets to “allow more space for pedestrians and landscaping.”

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